Some Developers Not Pleased With iOS 8’s Privacy Notifications

Privacy is a big issue amongst consumers and in the past, companies like Apple have found themselves in a spot of legal trouble over the issue of location tracking. However since then, companies like Apple and Google have worked to make their practices more transparent by notifying users when they are being tracked and asking for permission.

However it seems that in the process of pandering to its users, Apple could have ticked off its developer community. With iOS 8, Apple’s latest mobile operating system, the Cupertino company has introduced notifications to its users for apps that require access to your location even when you’re not using the app, as you can see in the screenshot above.

For end users this is a good thing because it lets us know which apps could be monitoring our location. However for some developers, they feel like it’s portraying them in a negative light due ot the choice of wording. Speaking to The Information, Runkeeper’s Max Freiert was quoted as saying, “It sounds like a confusing and almost nefarious thing.”

However some developers have tried to pre-empt the notification by offering an explanation before the notification pops up, thus putting users at ease, but what do you guys think? Should Apple look at rewording the notification to make it seem less “nefarious”?

Tyler Lee
Categories: Apple, Cellphones
Tags: iOS 8